The city is starting a new task force to tackle an epidemic of shoplifting, which has soared by 64% since 2019, Mayor Eric Adams said Wednesday.
The new team is led by Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks and includes all five of the city’s district attorneys as well as Attorney General Letitia James, Albany’s top prosecutor, according to a press release.
City Hall was represented by the NYPD, the Office of Public Safety, the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice and the city’s Department of Small Business Services.
Small business alliances in NYC and national corporate chains alike were also given a seat at the table.
Hizzoner’s announcement came five months after he rolled out a city retail theft strategy following a December Gracie Mansion summit with many of the same leaders included on the task force.
That powwow was held as city businesses reeled from high profile smash-and-grab heists that proliferated nationwide during the COVID-19 pandemic and brazen small-time shoplifters who were newly exempt bail due to the state’s controversial 2019 bail reform law for non-violent offenders.
The announcement also came as the Council on Criminal Justice published a report that found the city had led the nation in shoplifting increases since the year before the pandemic, edging out Los Angeles for the dubious distinction.
However, the report did note that theft was down in the first half of 2023 in the five boroughs compared to the same time period last year, while burglaries in LA continued to rise.
The new task force would advise the mayor on proposed laws to address the scourge and share intel between departments to better crack down on shoplifting trends, officials said.
“New York City’s retailers are the heart and soul of our city, and retail theft hurts everyone, from our mom-and-pop shops to large department stores — and especially consumers,” said Adams.
“Because of the collaborative actions taken in the last few months between government, the private sector, law enforcement, and, most importantly, local businesses, retail theft is down this year, but there is always more work to do,” the Democrat continued.